Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou | Fight Highlights

Here's how the tail of the tape looks. Ngannou, a couple of years older, but Fury will take to the ring an advantage in height and reach. And he's been able to put those to good use throughout his professional career so far. And that is the absolute key, Darren, is how Ngannou closes the space between them. Yeah. Hammer underway. And who will be the first to make an impact? Who will land the first significant blow? The inevitable tension in the air in a big heavyweight clash as Fury dips down and goes to the body and then finds his range with an overhand right inside the first 30 seconds. Yeah, see the sharp hands of Tyson Fury already. Found the range with that right hand twice. He's taken them well though, Ngannou, on the front foot, but yet to land anything. Can he get close? This is where he needs to put Tyson Fury on the ropes or in the corner. Try and get close. To the Gypsy King. Needs to try and take Tyson Fury out of his rhythm. Very hard to do so, though. Not many have done that, let alone an MMA fighter like Ngannou. Low lead hand. A smear of blood on the forehead of Tyson Fury. Ngannou trying to time Fury as Fury set up his own attack. 40 seconds to go in the second. He has to try and raise the tempo, Ngannou. Can't let Tyson Fury get into a rhythm unbeatable when he does so. So can Ngannou. Try and get close, try and rough up Tyson Fury. This is where he needs to be. In close, stab shots into the body, bring the uppercut into play, the hooks. Ngannou spent some time in the southpaw stance in his second round, but now back to orthodox, trying to work out the puzzle that is Tyson Fury. He also had his right hand tacked up high. Oh, good left hook from Ngannou. Can he build on that? Can he get close? Did Fury manage to take some of that on the glove? Try and get close again, Ngannou. Throwing the double jab. Fury surely won't allow Ngannou the time to grow in confidence. That's better. Sharp chop kick in. Oh, big shot from Ngannou, who dances after his success. And suddenly we have a fight. Wow. Tyson Fury down against Francis Ngannou. Unbelievable scenes. And still 20 seconds to go in the third round. Those who dismiss this as a gimmick now have to rethink as Ngannou goes on the front foot. The relative novice against the dominant heavyweight of the last decade. And up on his toes goes Fury now. Down once again for the seventh time in his career. And suddenly an aura of jeopardy around the fight and a touch of acknowledgement for Fury as he heads back to his corner. Tyson Fury could be in some jeopardy scheduled to take place in just eight weeks time. If stories and rumors from the build up week are to be believed. So how can Ngannou consolidate that success from the third round and that knuckle high on the head of Fury? Do you know what, Mike? It's the patience that I've been very impressed with so far from Ngannou. He's not rushing his work. He's been patient. Yes, there are flawed defenses, but the boxing, like I say, shapes up very well at the fight. Look at this lovely shot. Picking nice straight right to the body, followed by a left hook upstairs. Boxing lovely and Tyson Fury out of the box here. And suddenly there's a scream in the step of Francis Ngannou buoyed by that success of the third round. And maybe can see some hesitancy in the eyes of Tyson Fury. You're trying too hard, was the message from Sugar Hill Stewart in the corner. Like I said, the previous round saying that Tyson Fury is a bag of tricks, well, he's dealt with those tricks so well, Ngannou. Three jabs though, he's just moving slightly to his left. He wouldn't be walking off that right hand if Ngannou slipped. You can tell by the demeanor of the two men, the amount of respect flowing both ways here in the ring, as Ngannou from the southpaw stance trying to land a left hand and makes Fury miss with his counter. Yeah, smite side there, Ngannou tying up Fury, moving round the back of the Gypsy King, stopping the threat of any shots coming back. Boxing nicely, I must say, at both stances, Ngannou. He's struggling now, Ngannou is walking onto shots, struggling to find the target of his own shots. There's the uppercut, the guard of Ngannou is wide open. The head a little low, as you see there, so the uppercut certainly a very good shot. Choice of weapon for Tyson Fury to start throwing. The hand speed as well seems to have dipped of Ngannou. Last half a minute of round six. Here's Ngannou beginning to tie up. Yeah, fatigue definitely setting in. He's better off fighting out of the orthodox stance, Ngannou, because he will get caught with that right hand. That is the shot for a southpaw. Two options out, Tyson Fury. He can keep things simple and win this fight comfortably from now on in. Or does he try and excite and entertain? I'm sure Ngannou is feeling this pace. Will he go through the gear? Oh, good left hook though from Ngannou. And just when he looked as though Ngannou was tiring, so he lands a solid left hand. To Fury, you can make this fight as difficult as you want. But again, success for Ngannou. Just when you think he's dead and buried, he comes back with two shots. He was looking comfortable, Tyson Fury, but... Oh, big right hand though. And he takes it again, Ngannou. He has shown an unbelievable chin. Not only takes it, but fires back. Heavy shots also from Ngannou. A minute to go in round number eight. Still plenty of fight in the man from Cameroon. Unbelievable scenes. Ngannou's bandits are big shots out of nowhere. And buoyed by those successes, he gets on the front foot once again. As we head into round nine of a contest that's become just fascinating. What's been so impressive from Ngannou is the fact that he's been out of the ring well over a year, an awful long time. But his timing has been very, very good. He just kind of waits for Tyson Fury to let his shots go. Then he'll fire back with a quick one too. Impressive, really, really is impressive. You've seen many a boxer who's been out of the ring that long. Really struggle to find their timing. Let alone being there with someone as elusive and as hard to catch as Tyson Fury. So massive respect to Ngannou. Said this before, the guard of Ngannou is quite open. So the price is not going to rock now. Ngannou, he knows that the final bell is upon us. I cannot believe we're going to hear the final bell in this contest. Incredible stuff. He can be extremely proud of himself from Ngannou. What an effort, what a fight for him. Fury bouncing up on his toes in the closing stages as the two men almost exchange left hooks close to the centre of the ring. And it's all over. Ten rounds completed for Francis Ngannou. Respect flowing both ways at the sound of the bell to end the tenth and final round. And those who dismiss the chances of Francis Ngannou will have to rethink. And we might have seen a rethink in terms of what these crossover fights can bring. Ladies and gentlemen, after ten rounds of boxing, we go to the scorecards. What a way to open Riyadh season here in the city of Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Here are the judges' scorecards. Ed Garner scores it 95-94. Ngannou. Juan Palaios scores it 96-93 for Fury. Alan Krebs scores it 95-94. A one-point decision on the third card. Winner by split decision. Still undefeated from the United Kingdom, the WBC heavyweight world champion, the Gypsy King, Tyson Fury! Well, it's telling that the celebrations, such as they are in the Fury corner, are muted. Two of the judges voting in favour of Fury, but one of them going the other way. And those supporters of Ngannou, well, their faith was well placed.